Emma Watson Faces 6-Month UK Driving Ban

Prime Highlights

Emma Watson disqualified from driving for six months following fourth speeding offence.
Offence lost her 12 points, and this automatically led to disqualification from driving.

Key Facts

Watson was fined £660 for speeding at 38mph in a 30mph limit.
Total penalties and fines and surcharges were £1,044.

Key Background

Harry Potter star Emma Watson was disqualified from driving for six months after she was found guilty of her fourth speeding ticket in late two years. High Wycombe Magistrates’ Court ruled the decision after Watson was pulled over for speeding by the police in Oxford in July 2024 for traveling at 38 miles per hour in a 30 mph area.

Her most recent speeding offence put her on 12 points, the limit at which the UK’s “totting-up” procedure automatically suspends a licence. Watson did not appear in court and had her lawyer record a guilty plea for her. She did not also make an exceptional hardship application, however, which in some instances enables motorists to escape being banned.

In addition to the ban on driving, Watson also had to pay £660 for having committed the offense. When other charges in court and law fees were added, one had to pay £1,044. The ban on driving took effect immediately after the court had made its decision.

This is not a first celebrity offense for Watson. The Oscar-winning actress had also accumulated three stand-alone speeding offenses between late 2023 and early 2024, worth a total of nine points. The Oxford crash added the remaining three, above her limit and losing her license.

Apart from this, the same court also prosecuted actress Zoë Wanamaker who was prohibited for an equal six months from driving after recording 12 points on her driving license. These celebrity cases tend to make one forget that UK traffic law operates irrespective of public celebrity or professional prominence and that more than one slight offense can carry serious punishments.